At Forrest Paint, we have always been very concerned about the impact our plant might have on our workers and our neighbors. For over 20 years, we have worked to make our facility safer and to minimize its effect on the environment. This hasn't been done in a vacuum. Forrest Paint is one of the most highly regulated businesses in our area.
We work closely with regulatory agencies of the Federal, State and local governments. In the past few years, our facility has been inspected by the Department of Environmental Quality, Federal Aviation Authority, OSHA, Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority, Eugene Fire Department and the Hazardous Materials expert from the Eugene Fire Department. Many of these visits were at our request seeking expert advice on how to make our plant safer or our processes cleaner. We participate in the National Paint and Coatings Association's "Coatings Care" program, approved by the American Chemical Societies as equivalent to "Chem Care".
Early in our history, Forrest Paint eliminated most of the chemicals often assumed to be in paint which cause the most environmental and health problems. We do not use lead, chromium, mercury, chlorofluorocarbons, or methylene chloride.
Most of the items included in our Eugene Toxic Right to Know Report are reportable because they are flammable. The paint thinners we use are not as hazardous as the gasoline you use in your car. Over the last 20 years, we have reduced by 71% the volume of thinner (Volatile Organic Compounds) that we use per gallon of paint produced. Based on data available from the EPA website (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/f00013.htm) the total emissions from our plant in 2006 were less than (and less hazardous than) the emissions from 114 average passenger cars during that same year. Over the last 10 years, we have invested over $1.5 million in alternative technologies that allow us to reduce emissions further.
As part of Forrest Paint's Safety Management Plan, we examine each process in our plant every two years to determine the worst conceivable accidents. As a result of these studies, we constantly update our facilities to make them cleaner and safer. We regularly consult with the Eugene Fire Department, Lane Regional Air Polution Authority and OSHA to review our progress and our plans for the future.
Forrest Paint is concerned about any effect our facility and our products might have on the community. We will continue to work toward making our plant and our products safer for our employees, our neighbors, our customers, and our environment.
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SCOTT FORREST
Founder and CEO